Glass drawing apparatus



Jan. 4, 1938. H. HALBACH 2,104,460

GLASS DRAWING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 13, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l I III/III IXVEXTOR.

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m mm, m om aw HownRa-L Jan. 4, 1938. H. L. HALBACH GLAS S DRAWING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 13, 1937 Ii the bath and the base of the sheet, and thus percurvature is secured by the use of the spacing Patented Jan. 4, 1938 a s 'rars creme GLASS DRAWING APPARATUS Howard L. Halbach, Clarksburg, W. Va., assignor to Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, Allegheny County, Pa., a corporation of Pennsyl- Vania Application February 13, 1937, Serial No. 125,609 2 Claims. (Cl. 49-17) The invention relates to apparatus. for drawat intervals along the tubes, as indicated at l8. ing sheet glass, and particularly to the water The bottom tube fl is slightly bent, as indicated coolers which are employed above the glass bath in Fig. 2, so that its central portion is at a someto insure more rapid cooling of the surface of what higher level than the ends. The proper mit more rapid drawing. The coolers most comstrips l9, 2!}, 22, and 23, whose upper and lower monly employed are merely metal boxes of apsurfaces are welded to the tubes l6 and H.

proximately rectangular cross section having An inlet pipe 2 is provided at one end of the connections whereby water may be continuously cooler and an outlet pipe 25 at the other end,

10 circulated through the devices. Coolers of this Water being supplied under pressure so that a 10 type are subject of excessive sweating and warpcooling circulation is secured. In practice, the age. The condensation which forms on the expipes 24 and 25 form the means of support for terior of the boxes drips onto the surface of the the cooler, such pipes being supported from glass tending to stain it, and the warpage under above by means of hooks or other suitable conheat augmented by the weight of the boxes, tends nections. The pipe 24 leads into a vertical pipe 15 to distort them, so that their central portions are 26 welded to the ends of the pipes 13 to El and closer to the bath than their ends, thus tending to communicating at its lower end with the right make the sheet which is drawn thicker at the hand end of the bottom pipe H. Communicamiddle than at the ends. The objects of the tions are provided between the left hand ends of go present invention are to provide coolers in which the pipes ll and it, and between the pipes l5 and less sediment collects and on which the formait. At the right hand end of the pipes commution of condensation is reduced to a minimum; nications are provided between the pipes l6 and which are more resistant to warping; which in I5 and between the pipes i i and Hi. By virtue of service have their bottom faces substantially parthese connections, the water which is admitted 3 allel to the surface of the bath throughout the to the right hand end of the pipe El flows back length of the coolers; and which give a uniform and forth through the pipes and finally discooling efiect upon the bath and the glass sheet charges from the left hand end of the pipe l3, from one side of the bath and the sheet to the the flow through the variouspipes being indiother side thereof. One embodiment of the incated by the arrows.

3o vention is illustrated in the accompanyingdraw- The communications between the ends of adings, wherein: jacent pipes are provided by beveling the ends,

Figure l is a vertical section through a tank as indicated at El and 28 of Fig. 2 and then closand drawing apparatus involving an improveing the openings by means of a cap comprising ment. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the end plate 29 and two triangular side plates the cooler. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the cooler. 30, which fit the beveled tube ends. These caps 35 And Fig. 4 is a section through the cooler on. the are secured in position by welding. line IV-IV of Fig. 2. The structure as thus provided is relatively Referring to the general arrangement of the strong and rigid, so that when supported from parts as shown in Fig. l, 5 is a forehearth or the pipes 24 and 25, as heretofore pointed out,

10 drawing kiln connected at its left hand end with there is practically no sagging intermediate the -10 a melting tank 6. Lying above the surface of ends of the coolers. Due to the heat of the glass the bath in the kiln 5 is a roof or cover consisting there is a tendency of the bottom tube H to exof the plates 1, l and the L blocks 8, 8. The bath pand and carry the central portion of the cooler is provided with the usual skim bar :3 and the toward the bath. This tendency is compensated sheet ll! is drawn upward continuously through for by the arching of the tube ll as heretofore 4 a roller leer l l of the Fourcault type. The coolexplained. In a cooler of 90 inches in length, the ers l2, l2 are located above the surface of the amount of arching is preferably about %ths of bath adjacent the line of draw and are shown an inch, although this may vary somewhat dein detail in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. pending upon conditions. Due to the back and 59 The particular cooler shown is made up of forth circulation through the cooler, the cooling five metal pipes l3, l4, l5, l6, and ll arranged cfiect of the water is made relatively uniform one above the other in series, and of substantially from one end to the other and the temperature rectangular cross section, as indicated in Fig. 4. of the discharge water is ordinarily Very consid- These pipes are preferably of drawn steel tubing erably higher than with box coolers as heretofore '55 and are secured rigidly together by spot welding used. Due to this fact, the condensation formed parting from upon the exterior of the cooler is substantially less than with the type of coolers heretofore referred to, so that the amount of drip from the cooler to the surface of the glass bath is reduced to a minimum. As a result, any discoloration of the surface glass incident to the drip is minimized. The collection of sediment is also less in a cooler of this type than in a box cooler due to the greater velocity of flow which keeps the interior of the pipes relatively clear from deposit. Other advantages incident to the construction will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

It will be understood that the particular structure shown and described is subject to modification in matters of detail Without involving a departure from the invention as defined in the claims. For example, the arching of the bottom tube may be modified in degree depending on conditions to be met. In some cases, the bottom tube will be curved to such an extent that in service it is still slightly further from the bath at its control portion than at its ends, so as to give more cooling effect on the bath at the center than at the sides. The points of inlet and discharge may be modified as to location within certain limits Without materially affecting the functioning of the device, and the details of construction as to the closures of the tubes, while advantageous, may also be modified without dethe invention.

What I claim is:

1. In combination in glass drawing apparatus, means for drawing a sheet of glass from a bath, and a cooler above the glass bath adjacent the line of draw of the sheet comprising a series of metal pipes of rectangular cross section one above the other and rigidly secured together along their lengths, communications between each adjacent pair of pipes at one end thereof so that a continuous back and forth passage through all the pipes is provided, and an inlet and an outlet for the cooler, one of which is connected to one end of the top pipe of the series and the other of which is connected to one end of the bottom pipe of the series.

2. In combination in glass drawing apparatus, means for drawing a sheet of glass from a bath, and a cooler above the glass bath adjacent the line of draw of the sheet comprising a series of metal pipes of rectangular cross section one above the other and rigidly secured together along their lengths, communications between each adjacent pair of pipes at one end thereof so that a continuous back and forth passage through all the pipes is provided, an inlet connected to one end of the bottom pipe of the series and an outlet connected to one end of the top pipe of the series, the bottom pipe of the series being bent so that its central portion. lies at a higher level than its ends.

HOWARD L. HALBACH. 

